The Lychee Trees

Imagine this: Their marriage has not been chosen by them, but they are happy anyway.

They settle down in their own home, built on stilts for when the rainy season comes. Underneath they keep chickens, and on the land grows lychee trees she will later tell their granddaughter about. He works for the agricultural sector of the government; she runs a store out of their front room and raises their four daughters. He teaches her how to read and write.

The world is changing, and when the rumors reach them, they decided to leave their homeland. The six of them are lucky; they huddle together under a tarp in the back of a truck and make it safely to the refugee camp. When asked, he decides they will go to America.

In America, they each work multiple jobs. They have another daughter, the only one to be given an American name. They move so often that almost none of their daughters graduate from the same high school, but all five graduate valedictorian and go to college.

He passes away before their last daughter graduates high school, and she loses half of the team that brought her family safely to their new home.